Buffalo Grove Theater Goes Digital, Plans to Stay Open

The shows will go on at Buffalo Grove Theater.

The theater, which has worked for more than a year to raise funds to purchase digital equipment, now has the new projectors in place, it announced on its website.

Though the theater did raise some money through donations, auctions and raffles, the digital conversion was made possible by loans, according to a message on the theater’s website. The theater’s owner told the Buffalo Grove Countryside that fundraising efforts will continue as she pays off $4,000 per month over the next five years.

Buffalo Grove Theater worked for months to generate $180,000 it needed to cover digital projectors for its five screens. The new technology is required in all movie theaters, as studios will offer movies only in digital format beginning in 2014. Theater owner Debbie Benjamin previously told Patch that her business would be forced to close if funds were not raised for the conversion.

By September, theater representatives said they had raised about $7,000 toward that cost. An Indiegogo campaign brought in another $150, according to the fundraising site.

Current fundraisers at the theater include an auction featuring signed movie memorabilia, a raffle and a Paul Walker tribute auction. Visit the theater’s website for more information.